SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan (Kyodo) -- A panel of an international treaty regulating the trade of endangered species rejected a proposal on Thursday to impose export restrictions on all eels, amid calls from Japan, one of the world's largest consumers of the fish, to oppose the measure.
The proposal was submitted by the European Union and others at the ongoing conference of the parties to the Washington Convention in Uzbekistan. The EU had argued that European eels, which are already subject to restrictions under the pact, are being distributed illegally as they are indistinguishable from Japanese eels.
The bloc also said the number of Japanese eels has been sharply declining, claiming that all eel species should be listed as endangered under Appendix II to the Washington Convention, also known as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
A listing on Appendix II means that the species may become extinct if trade is not closely regulated.
Japan's government has insisted the country has sufficient resources of Japanese eels, which are not at risk of extinction, due to international trade.
Had the proposal been adopted, export permits, issued by the exporting countries, would have been required for the eel trade, a measure that would have jacked up prices in Japan, which relies on imports from China and other countries for 70% of its domestic supply.
Since some juvenile eels -- known as glass eels, which are necessary for aquaculture -- are imported, trade regulations could also have affected eel farming in Japan.
